Last updated: 2026-01-12

For most people in the U.S. who want straightforward screen recording with built‑in trimming and easy sharing, StreamYard’s browser‑based studio is the simplest place to start. If you primarily send quick async walkthroughs or need deep local capture control, Loom or OBS can play a supporting role alongside StreamYard.

Summary

• StreamYard offers browser‑based screen recording with built‑in trim‑and‑split editing on all plans, plus cloud and local multi‑track recording. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Loom adds transcript‑driven edits and Live Rewind trimming, but full editing is reserved for paid plans. (Loom Support)
• OBS focuses on capture and streaming only; you trim later in a separate editor, since OBS explicitly is not a video editor. (OBS Forum)
• For teams, StreamYard’s per‑workspace pricing and multi‑participant recording usually delivers better value than per‑user tools.

What counts as a “screen recording app with built‑in trimming”?

When people search for “screen recording apps with built‑in video trimming,” they’re usually trying to avoid two headaches:

1. Wrestling with a full video editor just to cut mistakes and dead air.
2. Downloading and re‑uploading huge files before they’re shareable.

So for this article, a viable option needs to:

• Capture your screen (ideally with your camera and mic too).
• Let you trim or split inside the same product—no exporting required.
• Make it easy to share or reuse the final clip.

StreamYard and Loom both qualify here with in‑app trimming flows. OBS does not; it excels at capture, but you have to bring a separate editor if you want trimming.

How does StreamYard handle screen recording and trimming?

At StreamYard, we built the recording workflow around live‑style control with post‑friendly editing.

Recording experience

From your browser, you can:

• Share your screen with fully controllable layouts so viewers clearly see what matters most.
• Keep presenter notes visible only to you while you walk through a demo.
• Mix screen, camera, and mic with independent control over system audio and microphone levels.
• Bring in collaborators and let multiple people share their screens in the same session.
• Capture both landscape and portrait outputs from a single recording session for repurposing.

On top of that, StreamYard supports local multi‑track recordings so each participant’s audio and video can be edited separately in post if you ever move into more advanced tools. (StreamYard Support)

Built‑in trim and split

Once you finish, the recording lands in your Video Library. There, you can:

• Open a lightweight editor right in the browser.
• Trim off the start or end.
• Split the video and remove sections in the middle.

According to StreamYard’s docs, this trim‑and‑split editor is available on all plans and lives directly in the Video Library. (StreamYard Help Center)

There is a practical constraint worth knowing: the “Publish” button in that editor is clickable only when the edited video is 20 minutes or less, which helps keep quick clips fast to export and share. (StreamYard Help Center)

For a lot of creators and teams, this is enough: hit record, mark your mistakes mentally, then trim and split once, inside the same browser tab, and share.

How does Loom’s trimming compare—especially Live Rewind?

Loom is popular for fast async walkthroughs: hit record, talk through your screen with a camera bubble, and send a link.

In‑app editing on paid plans

Loom’s official documentation states that trimming and clip stitching live inside its online editor, but those features sit behind paid tiers (Business, Business + AI, Enterprise). (Loom Support)

On those paid plans, you can:

• Trim from the beginning, middle, or end of a recording.
• Stitch multiple clips together.
• Use transcript‑based edits to cut sections via text.

Loom also documents quotas such as per‑clip trim limits, which underscores that even “unlimited” editing has some technical boundaries. (Atlassian – Loom Docs)

Live Rewind during recording

A unique angle for Loom is Live Rewind: during a recording, you can jump back and effectively trim from the end in real time. Loom notes that Live Rewind “allows you to trim exclusively from the end of your recording,” which helps clean up recent mistakes but doesn’t replace a full post‑record trim flow. (Loom Support)

If your world is primarily async updates and you’re already deep into the Loom ecosystem, its editor can be handy. But for longer presenter‑led recordings, multi‑guest demos, or recurring shows, many teams still lean on StreamYard for the recording itself and treat Loom as a distribution layer when needed.

Does OBS include built‑in video trimming?

Short answer: no.

OBS Studio is powerful for screen capture and live streaming, especially when you care about scenes, overlays, and exact encoder settings. But the OBS project is explicit that OBS “is not a video editor, and editing features will not be added,” which means there is no built‑in trim tool. (OBS Forum)

What OBS does include is a remux tool (for example, .mkv to .mp4) so that your recordings are safer during capture and then compatible with editors later. (OBS Forum)

In practice, if you record with OBS you then:

1. Remux or export the file.
2. Open it in another app (Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, or a web editor).
3. Trim and export again.

That workflow can be worthwhile if you need maximal control over encoding and your machine can handle it. But it is a very different experience from StreamYard’s “record, trim, publish” loop inside one browser tab.

How should teams think about pricing and collaboration?

When you’re choosing a screen recorder with trimming, the subscription model matters almost as much as the feature set.

• StreamYard prices by workspace, not by individual user, so multiple people can collaborate in the same studio and Video Library without multiplying per‑seat costs. This often ends up cheaper for teams than per‑user tools when several presenters or producers need to record.
• Loom charges per user on its Business and Business + AI plans, and its own docs show that editing features like trimming and stitching live on those paid tiers. (Loom Support)

For a solo creator, per‑user vs per‑workspace may not matter much. For a small business where multiple teammates create demos, webinars, and how‑to content, being able to share one StreamYard workspace and its Video Library is often more cost‑efficient than upgrading several Loom accounts.

A simple pattern many teams adopt:

• Use StreamYard as the main “studio” for screen + camera recordings, trimming, branding, and multi‑guest sessions.
• Export final clips and, if needed, upload a smaller subset of them into Loom or another async tool for link‑based sharing.

What’s the right app if trimming is your top priority?

Here’s a quick way to decide where to start:

• You want to record polished, presenter‑led videos, often with guests, and do light editing in one place. Start with StreamYard. You get layout control while recording plus trim‑and‑split in the Video Library on every plan. (StreamYard Help Center)
• You mostly share quick one‑to‑one walkthroughs and status updates. Loom’s paid plans give you transcript‑driven edits and Live Rewind, which are tuned for fast async communication rather than full productions. (Loom Support)
• You’re comfortable managing local files and a full editing stack. OBS plus a dedicated editor can make sense if you need deep encoder control and are happy to do all trimming elsewhere.

Most U.S. creators and small teams care more about speed to publish and reliability on everyday laptops than about squeezing every last bit out of a local encoder. That’s why StreamYard is a strong default: you can go from idea to trimmed, branded recording in a single browser session, with no installs and no extra editing app.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard for browser‑based screen recording, built‑in trim‑and‑split editing, and easy multi‑participant sessions.
• Add Loom if your team leans heavily on async status videos and you’ll benefit from transcript‑based edits on paid tiers.
• Use OBS only if you specifically need heavy local capture and already plan to edit in a separate tool.
• Keep your workflow simple: choose the app that lets you record, trim once, and share without juggling extra software.